Avista’s Dave Holmes, manager of applied research and development, said the installation of charging stations is seen as experimental for now.

He said it’s not clear how usage patterns will emerge as more and more electric cars take to the road, but it’s possible there will be a charging station on every corner in the future.

Businesses might offer free charging as an incentive for drawing customers, or premium parking might become available with charging, he said. For now, it’s not legal to charge a markup for the electricity.

Avista paid for the station’s hardware at City Hall at a cost of $4,000.

The city kicked in about $7,000 in tax money to have it wired. The city will also pay the electric bill, but at 7 cents a kilowatt hour, that is expected to be a negligible amount of money over time, officials said.

Verner said the project is an investment to encourage Spokane to become a more sustainable community.

A downtown charging station can help alleviate “range anxiety” that comes with having a car that could die on the road if driven beyond its battery range, she said in a separate news release.

Avista plans to upgrade the charging capacity at the station from 110 to 220 volts later this year to improve its efficiency.